Monday, 23 October 2017

Right now in this October 2017 Perthshire garden, bird species and numbers are increasing at the feeders almost daily. I'm on the lookout for Redpolls now. It's a great season to be gardenwatching! As a garden blogger there is much to chat about at this time of year. Red Admiral butterflies are still visiting, 4 counted the other day, but soon they will move on so each sighting is precious.

Yes, is the answer to the question: “Are hedgehogs still visiting the garden in mid-October?” should you be wondering. I can confirm that from a sighting last night via a new IR camera in the garden. It's been great fun to browse footage from a replacement, reasonably priced, trail camera bought especially to find this out. No current sightings in the hedgehog feeding station though.

Tonight, is the answer to the question: “When is BBC Autumnwatch 2017 on?" should you be wondering that. As always, I’m very much looking forward to it! I will keep this blog brief so you have more time to browse links to Autumn wildlife from around the UK. Check out BBC Autumnwatch on facebook , follow the latest wildlife happenings at BBC Autumnwatch Live and browse the chat and fantastic Autumn photo captures shared on the BBC Autumnwatch website.

Enjoy browsing these links above, they definitely inspire appreciation of our flora and fauna at this time of year. There’s the basic info about this year's Autumnwatch at the bottom of this post - times, presenters and location. For now, here are a few current Autumn captures from my little corner of the UK…

Clicking on the last image above will enlarge it to see, from top left, the hedgehog feeding station entrance between the two plant pots and a mouse running away from it with food. Camera moved to another position later that night caught a hedgehog just after midnight! To encourage the hedgehog to forage a bit more in the direction of the covered feeding station, the next evening the blogger sprinkles a food trail but only a cat is seen walking over it at dusk.

Trail cameras are fun but not essential when it comes to watching wildlife in the garden - having house window views to the garden work just as well. I absolutely love my gardenwatch window and especially when I’ve time for breakfast bird counts from it. It’s a great way to start the day :-)

What Autumn wildlife are you enjoying watching from your house windows just now? What are the season’s highlights from your part of the world? We’d all love to hear about them. For those that would like to hear more about the 2017 Autumnwatch series here’s the info promised above…

"When is it on TV?
Autumnwatch starts at 8pm on Monday 23rd October. There will be four episodes, all on BBC Two.

Who are the presenters?
Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan and Martin Hughes-Games will be based at Sherborne, and will explore how our British wildlife is coping with the onset of autumn across the UK. Meanwhile Gillian Burke will be live from England's south coast, getting to know a unique family of foxes in intimate detail.

Where will the team be based?
Autumnwatch returns to its year-long home in the heart of the Cotswold countryside, at the National Trust’s Sherborne Park Estate. The Estate was chosen as ‘the Watches’ first ever year-round location for the fantastic variety of habitats and wildlife to be found there, and because the mix of woodland, farmland and parkland (and the species that live in it), is an microcosm of the kind of British countryside that is accessible to most people in the UK."

4 comments:

I wish I could get those BBC stations. I will have to settle on reading your blog about all the exciting happenings in your garden. I have often wanted a trail cam. Maybe I will get one this year. I have just brought in all the plants for the winter season. The windows are full of plants. I have to peek around them to see outside. ha... Your garden looks beautiful in the short glimpses I see here. Happy Autumn Watching.

Hello again to you all, thanks for visiting and leaving your comments :-) Gosh time has flown by since you left them, sorry about the delay in replies

Lisa, I think of you when I leave the fb and website links in the hope that you can view our nature from where you are there when you can’t view our television coverage. Now, I do remember seeing photos of your outdoors plant invasion indoors – you look after them well! I don’t think I could cope with that many. Thanks, the garden borders are slowly winding down and foliage is being enjoyed now. My trail cam had been indoors for a bit, I need to get it back out again and give the garden borders some much needed seasonal attention – weeds especially!

Brian, They certainly are, our feeders are getting busier by the day as temps drop. Yes, presenters can change our enjoyment of nature programmes, I took a while to get used to CP and as you say his vast knowledge cannot be denied.

Sue, perhaps in a colder winter you’ll see more redpolls, our visitors usually stay a week or so and move on – guessing heading in your direction. Our Goldfinch numbers have reduced again (when I’ve been looking anyway) its starlings that have been dominating in bursts after the half coconuts with fat have been discovered.

OSPREY WEBCAM Loch of Lowes

GARDEN VISITS, WALK WITH ME...

GARDEN BIRD VIDEOS, COME SEE WHO CATCHES MY EYE...

I’ve noticed Sparrowhawks appear in the garden during wind and rain. To see my more regular visitors they are hiding behind the handsome chap above – just click on his photo :-)

BLUE TIT NESTBOX DIARY 2010

Six eggs, two attentive parents, hundreds of caterpillars, insects & live mealworms. Result… six chicks successfully fledge! Click on photo link above to follow their story through chat, photos & video.

WHERE IN THE WORLD AM I?

My small garden is in Perthshire, Scotland. I don’t have salmon in my pond, red deer in my borders, ospreys nesting in my acers or red squirrels at my peanut feeders! Nor do I have the world’s highest hedge, paths exciting enough for the serious cyclist and enough of a lawn for golf! However, Perthshire does plus many beautiful gardens too… follow the photo link above to see :-) Update Nov 2016 - Fantastic news, red squirrels now visiting feeders!